KAMPALA .
Renowned City businessman and veteran politician James Musinguzi Garuga has died.
He was aged 73 .
A close family member and a former political associate of the deceased says Garuga passed on in one of the hospitals in Kampala city after battling an illness. The exact cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
Garuga was a prominent figure in Uganda’s business and political circles, with a long-standing influence in the Kigezi sub-region.
He was the financial controller of four-time presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye’s campaign task force ahead of the 2001 General Election.
Who was Garuga?
Musinguzi was born in 1953 in Kihihi village, Kanungu district. At age seven, he joined Kinkizi Primary School.
Eight years later, he went to Mbarara High School. From 1971-73, he was at Makerere College School.
Thereafter, he enrolled for a three-year Bachelor of Commerce degree at Makerere University and was then employed at Rayon Textiles Ltd as an accountant.
The following year, he took on a job with Shell, where he worked in the accounts section.
He returned to Makerere in 1980 for a Bachelor of Law degree. He was married to Dr Peace Musinguzi, and they have four children.
Musinguzi lived an extraordinarily successful life.
He was the director of Incafex Services Ltd, as a management and public relations consultant. The firm also provides agricultural and legal advisory services.
He was a prosperous farmer and the proprietor of Garuga Country Club in Entebbe, Wakiso district.